Alan Posted March 10, 2019 at 06:43 AM Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 06:43 AM My first post here, so please redirect if I've mistakenly come to the wrong portion of the site... My home owners' association (HOA) has monthly meetings, with each month's meeting minutes formally approved the following month. After approval, they are posted in our website in a few days. Typically, this means it's about 5 weeks after a meeting occurs before the residents have knowledge of what happened. If a resident has a concern about something that happened, they then will have to wait until the following meeting -- a full two months - before being able to come to the monthly board meeting to comment. The worst case scenario for us is with the October meeting minutes. Since we have no November meeting, those won't be approved until December -- and the resident with a concern won't have a change to talk before the Board until January -- a full 90 days later. It has been suggested that the HOA Secretary publish draft minutes within ten days after each meeting, but nobody's really familiar with Robert's Rules and what provisions there are for draft minutes -- esp. with respect to publishing them online (albeit marked as "draft" until formally approved). I'd appreciate whatever guidance the experts here can give. (I should note that I'm not on the Board, but am a proponent of getting draft minutes published ASAP so members can more quickly see what the Board is doing and offer their inputs as quickly as possible.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 10, 2019 at 06:56 AM Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 06:56 AM The practice of distributing minutes clearly marked -DRAFT- is something that many organizations do. I'm not sure I'd agree that they should be placed online for all the world to see, whether draft or approved. But that's another question. And of course minutes taken during Executive Session might need to be kept secret for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted March 10, 2019 at 07:03 AM Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 07:03 AM " I'm not sure I'd agree that they should be placed online for all the world to see, whether draft or approved. " Our Board meeting minutes are placed online, but access is restricted to residents. You point about the Executive Sessions is a good one, but I think the general thinking is that only the open Board meeting minutes should be released as draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 10, 2019 at 08:10 AM Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 08:10 AM I agree with Mr. Novosielski. Nothing in RONR restricts you in any way from posting or distributing draft minutes or approved minutes, except for the caveat that minutes of executive sessions of a board (or any other group) are to be made available only to the members of the group that was meeting unless that group specifically consents to the release of those minutes or to the release of certain information about what transpired at the meeting. The particular procedure to be followed is up to your organization.... RONR really provides no guidance on that point. Just be sure that draft minutes are clearly labeled DRAFT MINUTES and maybe contain a notation that they are not to be considered official minutes until they are approved by the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zev Posted March 10, 2019 at 10:07 AM Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 10:07 AM In addition to the suggestions above, what about some video conference software, a password for your HOA members, and allow them to observe the meeting they cannot attend knowing full well that they cannot interact or vote but at least they can view the proceedings as they take place. Perhaps that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted March 10, 2019 at 10:10 PM Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2019 at 10:10 PM Thanks to all for the advice -- I sure lucked out by coming to the right place! A couple of us have thought about using videoconferencing, but our Board meetings often devolve into problem solving sessions with Board members and residents all being part of the discussion. That, I think, would lead to problems in terms of having a number of mics and the camera constantly changing its focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SallyGee Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:35 PM Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:35 PM I have been searching the web for days now trying to find some sort of timeframe that HOA boards must make meeting minutes available to homeowners. Like the first post on this thread, my community has to wait a minimum of 3-4 months to see meeting minutes from the previous quarterly meeting. Worse than that is our board waited 9 months (mid-February 2019) to post all board meeting minutes from May 2018. I need some resource or written guidance to show the board president that this current practice is unacceptable. Is anyone aware of SPECIFIC written guidance about HOA/boards making minutes available to their community/stakeholders in an acceptable amount of time? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:41 PM Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:41 PM I'm afraid that you will find nothing in Robert's Rules to help you out in this regard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:44 PM Report Share Posted March 12, 2019 at 03:44 PM (edited) 8 minutes ago, Guest SallyGee said: I have been searching the web for days now trying to find some sort of timeframe that HOA boards must make meeting minutes available to homeowners. Like the first post on this thread, my community has to wait a minimum of 3-4 months to see meeting minutes from the previous quarterly meeting. Worse than that is our board waited 9 months (mid-February 2019) to post all board meeting minutes from May 2018. I need some resource or written guidance to show the board president that this current practice is unacceptable. Is anyone aware of SPECIFIC written guidance about HOA/boards making minutes available to their community/stakeholders in an acceptable amount of time? Thank you! I am uncertain if your concern is regarding the minutes of board meetings or meetings of the association (or both). There is no requirement in RONR that the board make its minutes available to their community or stakeholders at all. The minutes of board meetings only need to be made available to members of the board. It is possible that applicable law or your organization’s rules have their own rules on this subject. If not, perhaps the organization should adopt such rules. As for meetings of the association, if the meetings are held at least quarterly, the draft minutes may simply be read at the next regular meeting so far as RONR is concerned, and approved minutes must be available for inspection by the members. Again, the organization is free to adopt its own rules on this subject if it wishes. Edited March 12, 2019 at 03:44 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lana W Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:45 PM Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:45 PM On 3/12/2019 at 10:35 AM, Guest SallyGee said: I have been searching the web for days now trying to find some sort of timeframe that HOA boards must make meeting minutes available to homeowners. Like the first post on this thread, my community has to wait a minimum of 3-4 months to see meeting minutes from the previous quarterly meeting. Worse than that is our board waited 9 months (mid-February 2019) to post all board meeting minutes from May 2018. I need some resource or written guidance to show the board president that this current practice is unacceptable. Is anyone aware of SPECIFIC written guidance about HOA/boards making minutes available to their community/stakeholders in an acceptable amount of time? Thank you! Check your HOA's Bylaws to see what the process is for meeting minutes. Any owner should have the right to request meeting minutes, even if they haven't been formally approved by the board. Also, if your HOA is a non-profit entity, check your state's non-profit regulations which spells out requirements for meeting minutes and would govern if it's not specifically addressed by your HOA's Bylaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:49 PM Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:49 PM This topic dates back to 2019. It is stale. Please start a new topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:50 PM Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 at 04:50 PM (edited) N/A Edited November 13, 2023 at 04:51 PM by Gary Novosielski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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